How often do employees say, ‘I am so stressed’ during a normal day at the workplace? Fairly often in the typical workplace, we’d imagine. But, what do employees actually mean when they say this? It usually means one of two things, ‘I have a lot of work pending today and am racing against time’ or, ‘I cannot carry on at all and need a break from this job, life and everything else.’ While both of these conditions show varying levels of stress, we feel the latter deserves more caution and attention than the former.
An employee pushing through work without the motivation or the intrinsic drive to perform well is a liability for you and your firm. Hence, it is necessary that you realize signs of stress and take effective action. In this article we mention some of the top tell-tale signs that an employee is suffering from stress. Recognize these signs and take effective action immediately.
Taking More Time Off Work
Employees that are stressed start taking more time off work than usual. This happens when the employee starts coming in late or starts taking last-minute casuals and displaying behavior that is quite unlike them.
While time off work is a necessity, you also need to realize and monitor the frequency of it. Employee regularity and decorum should always be maintained if you want a healthy workplace.
Reduced Productivity and Poor Concentration
Employee productivity and output is something that keeps going up and down over the period of their service. It is indeed an anomaly to find employees that deliver consistently high productivity over a period of 5 to 10 years.
However, when reduced productivity amalgams with poor concentration, you get a mixture that can prove to be dangerous for employee and your organization. Always keep an eye out for employees that were previously really attentive, but have poor concentration levels right now.
Short Temper
The culture you have in your organization today is a result of the people you’ve hired and the characteristics they’ve displayed. Once your employees start suffering from stress, they become short-tempered. This has an almost direct impact on your culture and the relations between employees. Short-tempered employees lead to more conflicts; and conflicts as we know are a slow form of poison for your firm.
Sudden outbursts of emotion and loss of control over one’s temper are signs of employee stress and anxiety. Do not let these episodes slip by as you should take corrective measures to avoid them becoming a norm.
We at JS Benefits Group have worked with numerous clients to discuss the signs of employee stress and what they can do to manage it. You can get in touch with JS Benefits Group immediately to discuss and devise a contingency strategy.
